Council to bring in consultants for pay review

A council said it will spend £3m on external consultants to review the pay structure of its staff.

Liberal Democrat-run Somerset Council said it was "high time" a pay and grading review was carried out for its more than 4,000 full time staff and a new system was launched from April 2027.

When the council formed by uniting five local authorities in 2023, it inherited different sets of payment structures for its staff.

Somerset councillor Theo Butt-Philip said: "It's highly likely that in a number of areas we will see staff being paid more. It is possible that there will be some staff who see their pay reduced but I very much hope that won't be the case."